Just A Little Respect
by webofdreams89
Summary: All he wanted was a little respect, but how can that ever happen when the truth finally comes to light? SasuNaru.


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**Author's Notes: Whew, I finally finished this story! Huge load off my mind as I started writing months ago, probably back in January or so... Well, it's my first Naruto fic, with a SasuNaru pairing. Hope you enjoy.**

**Summary: All he wanted was a little respect, but how can that ever happen when the truth finally comes to light?**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto no matter how much Shikamaru wants me. It's just way things (sadly) are.**

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**Just A Little Respect**

5:30 a.m always rolls around much faster than one wishes it to, especially when one doesn't get to bed until two o'clock in the morning. Uzamaki Naruto scowled at the screaming alarm clock, willing it to just _stop._ Reaching over to turn it off seemed like such a crime when he was still warm with the blissfulness of sleep.

Grumbling, he reached over and switched the alarm off. The incessant blaring ceased, _thank the gods! _and Naruto knew that if he didn't get up right now, that very warmth of sleep would draw him back in it‛s grasps, reclaim his consciousness, and that would be a very bad thing.

"Damn you, Kakashi!" he growled, stumbling his way to the bathroom. "Damn you for having 6 o'clock training!"

In his mind, he could see his sensei looking up from the latest volume of _Make-out Paradise_, and rolling his one exposed eye dramatically. "Well, _Naruto,_ I could have made training even earlier. If that suits you better, then I think both Sakura and Sasuke will agree to earlier training sessions." Right, as if Kakashi could be there on time for even earlier training sessions.

After using the restroom and washing his hands (believe it or not, Naruto does in fact wash his hands), he filled a pot up from the faucet and put the water on the stove for instant ramen. While he waited for the water to boil, Naruto got dressed and attempted to comb his hair, but the comb got stuck yet again.

"Son of a Hokage!" he cursed, trotting back to the restroom to extract the comb from his unreasonably unruly blond hair.

Extracting the comb proved to be impossible if he was to keep the comb in one piece, leaving him no choice but to snap it, bits of black plastic flying in all directions. He shrugged, vowing to pick the pieces up later as he did every morning, hair left uncombed as his other combs had all already suffered similar fates.

The water was done boiling by the time he got back to the kitchen. Grabbing a cup of instant ramen from the cupboard, he carefully poured the water into the cup.

Waiting had never exactly been Naruto's strong suit and waiting for _ramen_ to cool was, to him, a particularly cruel brand of torture.

He dug in, cursing as his tongue instantly burned, quickly turning to that odd painful, but numb feeling that one gets when they drink hot chocolate or coffee to soon after poured. Frowning down at his noodles, he blew on them as much as he could for as long as he could. By the time he took his next bite, the ramen was cool enough to eat. After all, Naruto _was_ full of hot air.

He downed his breakfast, apologetic that he didn't have the time to enjoy his favorite food that pretty much consisted of his every meal. But he had to rush, else he arrive late to training (again) and earn team 7 another morning of what basically equated to hell.

Slipping his shoes on, grabbing his ninja gear, and locking his apartment (not that anyone ever came near it anyway), he dashed all the way to the training field.

"Sasuke not here yet?" he asked the pink-haired girl, who stood somewhat impatiently, arms crossed and foot tapping. It was pretty much a given that Kakashi would be late.

"No one is here but you and me, Naruto. Obviously."

It was weird, Sasuke was _always_ on time. The kid was probably early for his own birth, Naruto thought, grinning slightly at the thought of Sasuke beating on his mother‛s womb, screaming _‛let me out!‛_. For some reason, it amused him to picture Sasuke as a fetus, helpless and feeble.

"What's so funny, dobe?" the boy in question asked from Naruto's left.

"Eh, you wouldn't believe me if I told you," the blond replied, grinning widely at the new arrival.

"Which means you probably just made it up," Sakura said.

"I wouldn't doubt it," Sasuke agreed, although rather reluctantly.

It was odd, this feeling of offence that welled up in Naruto's stomach at Sasuke's statement. Almost felt as if he was being betrayed. Almost.

He was used to Sasuke's teasing, he told himself, but it didn't quench the odd feeling in the pit of his stomach, the disappointment.

He looked up at the raven-haired boy to find him staring at Naruto intently. The way those dark, dark eyes were peering at him…Almost like the way a hunter would gaze as he zeroed in on his prey.

Naruto stared right back, his sapphire eyes gazing back at Sasuke's, curious as to why so much concentration was being pilfered from Sasuke‛s eyes. _Probably imagining spearing me through the gut, _Naruto thought with an unhappy shrug.

"There‛s something in your hair," Sasuke said, deathly quiet as the reached forward to pick the black bit of plastic from the blond‛s hair.

Instinct took over Naruto as Sasuke‛s fingertips brushed his hair, sending a wickedly delightful shiver down the boy‛s spine. He didn‛t know why he did it, but less than a second later, his fist was thrown painfully into Sasuke‛s gut.

Sasuke was bent over gasping, clutching his stomach, when Sakura jumped in, slamming Naruto in the side of the head with her palm. "Naruto, how could you do that?!" she asked.

The blond still stood there in disbelief, staring down at the Uchiha while remaining deathly still as Sakura continued her assault. From the ground, Sasuke‛s eyes bored into his, almost as if something was proven in Sasuke‛s eyes. He nodded slightly, a small confirmation, before standing up, not even glaring at Naruto as he usually would have. Instead, his face was completely blank, devoid of all trace of emotion.

"Well," Kakashi said from behind them, "it doesn‛t take long before the three of you begin fighting amongst yourself, does it? And I was only about ten minutes late today too."

"Kakashi-sensei! Naruto punched Sasuke in the stomach for no reason at all!" Sakura began, pointed the metaphorical finger at the boy.

"Yes Sakura, I saw the whole thing."

"Then how were you ten minutes late?" the pink-haired girl asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Well, I really wasn‛t late today. I guess I‛m just late so often I simply confused it with another day," he said shrugging. "Now, for today‛s training. I have a mission that I really must be attending to, so I worked it out where the three of you can still train. Naruto, Sasuke, the two of you will be working on your endurance for today."

"Endurance?" Naruto croaked, still shaken by the previous look in Sasuke‛s eyes.

Kakashi nodded. "You will be filling these buckets of water and running them into town to the hospital. The laboratory‛s water pipes burst, so I volunteered the two of you to provided them water." Pausing, Kakashi waited for one of the two boys (particularly Naruto) to protest as such menial labor. Frowning and clearly disappointed, he went on, "As for you, Sakura, Asuma was kind enough to agree to let you train with his team today."

"Asuma‛s team?" Sakura asked blanching. "As in the team Ino-pig is on?"

The sensei smiled. "The one and only." Placing four buckets on the ground, he gave one last look to his team, one that read _don‛t fuck this up or else! _and was gone.

Sasuke gave Naruto a lingering, weighted look before picking up two of the buckets and heading down to the stream. "We should get to work."

—

It was on the boy‛s second trip into town that it happened. They were jogging breathlessly through the village, careful to avoid the pedestrians, when a young boy ran in front of Sasuke, causing him to trip and spill the entirety of his two buckets on the wares a woman had displayed for sale.

She looked up, glancing at Sasuke first before her eyes landed on Naruto, instant recognition filling them. Her grey eyes narrowed to slits and she pounced. "I can‛t believe you of all people would do something so cruel as to destroy my entire display!! The people of this village took you in when no one even wanted you here and this is how you repay us? By destroying our livelihood?"

Puzzled, Sasuke stepped forward. "I‛m really sorry, ma‛am, but I‛m the one the spilled the water. I don‛t understand why you are blaming Naruto, when my buckets are clearly empty."

"Don‛t worry, child," the woman said to Sasuke, "I don‛t blame you in the slightest. I know that it was that little _demon_ that caused you to spill your buckets."

Sasuke frowned, a crease growing in his brow. "Really, ma‛am, it was all _my_ fault."

The woman chose to ignore Sasuke, her eyes still narrowed and focused on Naruto. "You should just leave. Now."

Sasuke could hardly believe that, when he too looked at Naruto, the boy was standing there, perfectly still, eyes pained. He couldn‛t understand why the woman was treating the blond like vermin, he couldn‛t understand especially why Naruto was taking some one else‛s crap. He never took crap, not from anyone.

So when Naruto‛s gaze dropped to the ground and he muttered a quick, "I‛m sorry," Sasuke was at a complete loss.

Naruto took off, continuing his journey to the hospital labs as if nothing had happened, ignoring the stares of the other villager‛s glares and grimaces as he passed.

"What was that all about?" Sasuke asked when he caught up with Naruto, now carrying empty buckets.

"What was what?"

"Back there with that woman. The way she was treating you..."

Blue eyes met Sasuke‛s black ones. "It‛s the way most everyone treats me. I‛m used to it," Naruto said simply.

"But why do they treat you like that? It doesn‛t make any sense."

"It makes a lot of sense," Naruto said defensively. "Look, I really don‛t feel like talking about this, okay?"

Sasuke said nothing.

He couldn‛t hold his tongue forever, though, just until they made it back to the stream. "Seriously, Naruto, what was that all about?"

"I really don‛t want to talk about it," he repeated, bending down to scoop his bucket full of water.

He heard Sasuke come up behind him, felt him grab his arm, and was standing, nearly eye level with him a moment later. "I want to know," he practically growled.

Naruto smirked. "You really don‛t."

Grabbing the blond by the shoulders, he said pointedly, "Yes, actually, I do."

"You want to know the truth? Well, then fine, I‛ll tell you the truth. That woman, she was right, I am a demon. That‛s why no one wants anything to do with me. Because I am a _demon_, the fox demon."

"You lost me," Sasuke said, puzzled.

"I am the fox demon, the kyubi. When it was attacking the village all those years ago, the only way for them to stop it was for it to be sealed up inside a person. That way, when the person dies, so does the demon. _That‛s_ why no one wants anything to do with. It‛s because they blame me."

By the end of his impromptu speech, Naruto‛s face was red with fury and wet with a small trickling of tears.

"I don‛t blame you," Sasuke replied honestly, still holding the boy by the shoulders.

"You don‛t even know me," Naruto growled quietly, pushing Sasuke away and running.

—

Naruto wasn‛t one to pout, at least for very long at a time. But this time was different because the situation was different. He cared for Sasuke despite what he told himself on a daily basis (_I hate that bastard, I do!_), and could hardly stand the thought of having lost the little respect he had gained in Sasuke‛s eyes. It seemed that everyone who knew the truth, that he was the kyubi, with the exception of Iruka and Kakashi, thought of him as nothing more than a monster, a nuisance that the village would be much better without.

He first realized his growing feeling for Sasuke after their fight with Zabuza and Haku, after he thought Sasuke to be dead. The rage had filtered through his body, grinding, gnawing at his heart at the thought of the only person on the planet that wholly understood him was dead. And not only that he was dead, but he‛d taken the boy‛s heart with him.

It wasn‛t long before the mere sight of the boy was enough to make Naruto break out in a sweat, to curse himself as his body took over, leaving his mind behind in the gutter. It was scarey, the loss of control. He had trouble concentrating enough as it was, but whenever Sasuke was around, it was at least ten-fold worse. He wanted nothing more to be the best, to be worthy of the respect that he so desperately sought. And now it was all over, all for nothing.

Because he knew that he had no chance of redeeming himself, not when Sasuke knew his deepest darkest secret that was really only secret to the children of the village. But he had asked for the truth, and at this point, Naruto knew he couldn‛t outright lie to him... So he‛d told him.

And now he was depressed.

Staring listlessly at the ceiling, just as he had been for the past several hours, was getting to be tiring, but the thought of actually moving his ass of off the couch was even more exhausting. He was starving, knew he should eat something, consume some liquids so he wouldn‛t dehydrate, but he hardly cared anymore. If Sasuke, the single person he cared about most on the planet, had lost respect for him, that what was his reason for living?

The sun was setting for the day, hiding deftly behind the hills in the distance, casting amber shadows on the walls. Tearing his eyes from the ceiling, he looked outside, eyes glazing over as the bright twilight glow burned his eyes, leaving bright white spots on his eyelids ever time he blinked.

A loud knocking came from the door. Naruto ignored it. The visitor was persistent, knocking again, and this time louder. "Naruto, open up!" the all too familiar voice called. "I know you‛re in there."

"Go ‛way," he said as loudly as his self-pity would muster.

Surprisingly enough, Sasuke heard this, sighing in frustration. Naruto could picture him rolling his eyes. He wanted to kiss him. But he kind of wanted to punch him at the same time. How could Sasuke come to pay him a visit when he clearly hated him just as much as the rest of the villagers? Did he really just want to torture him?

"I will not go away, Uzamaki, so open the fucking door. I‛ll break in if I have to."

Sighing also, Naruto said, "The door‛s unlocked."

A second later, he heard the door open and then close, heard the foot steps as Sasuke made his way to the couch to stare down at the immobile blond. "What is wrong with you," he asked, hands on his hips.

Naruto simply rolled over, putting his back to the boy. Sasuke did roll his eyes this time, grabbing Naruto by the arm to roll him back around, accidently pulling him off the couch in the process and into his legs, causing him to collapse next to the boy.

They both sat there, on the floor in a heap, eyes staring at the other, trying to read them. "Why did you run away from me earlier?" Sasuke asked finally after a thirty second or so pause.

"Why?" Naruto asked mockingly. "I thought that it was fairly obvious. Especially for someone of your great intelligence."

"Well, I‛m obviously not nearly as intelligent as you seem to think I am because I have no fucking clue what you are talking about," he replied stonily.

Naruto was silent, just staring. Sasuke was more than a little surprised at the sight. Never in his memory of the boy, could he recall Naruto being anything but hyperactive, show-offy, and more than a little clumsy. Something must have really been bothering him for him to be acting so listless and depressed.

Not knowing what exactly to say, he raised his left hand, exposing a bottle to the blond. "I brought sake. I thought we could drown our sorrows for a while."

_Drown_, Naruto thought._ I wish I could just drown._ Grabbing the bottle from the other boy, he popped the cap off and let the liquid burn it‛s way down his throat. He choked a little as his throat was dry from not having drunk anything since morning.

"Don‛t drink it so fast," Sasuke said, staring at him as he choked. He took the bottle from Naruto and took his own swig, setting it down next to him. "Why don‛t you tell me why you got so pissy earlier. I hate being left in the dark."

Again, Naruto ignored him, instead grabbing the bottle and taking another swallow.

"Come on, Naruto, I really don‛t understand."

Sitting up, the blond snarled, "What, you didn‛t hear me earlier when I told you that I‛m a monster? Or did it just not register in your brain?"

Scowling, Sasuke replied, "I heard you. And I don‛t think you‛re a monster. For as much as I don‛t want to admit it, you‛re probably more like a hero to this fucking village. Without you, some other poor bastard would have to deal with it and he probably wouldn‛t be strong enough to handle it. Not like you do. So fuck all the ignorant people in this village. They should be worshiping you for saving their sorry asses."

Naruto frowned, hardly able to believe his ears. He knew that the sake couldn‛t be kicking in this fast, not with only two swallows (not that he really knew, never having drank before). He couldn‛t believe that Sasuke was actually sticking up for him, calling him a _hero_ for Hokage‛s sake.

Noticing his silence, Sasuke went on, "People will never respect you, Naruto, not if you show them that you don‛t deserve it. You don‛t have to be mean, just show people that you have a backbone. I know you do. Prove to them that you deserve their respect."

"So you don‛t hate me?" the blond asked quietly, taking another swallow.

"Hate you? Why should I hate you?" Sasuke asked, truly puzzled.

A tiny, microscopic, flame of hope kindled in Naruto‛s heart, making him feel a little light headed, a little light hearted.

"Please," Sasuke pleaded, "don‛t talk about yourself like that again, okay? I could hardly stand it before."

"Why?" Naruto asked.

"Because if you want people to–"

"No," Naruto interjected, "why could you hardly stand it?"

Sasuke flushed, looking for the sake. Grabbing if from the floor next to his companion, he took a giant hit of the liquid. It was now or never, he figured. If Naruto rejected him, then he truly was a worthless as his older brother had told him on that desolate night years ago. But maybe, just maybe...

"Because," Sasuke said, his eyes jumping back up to reclaim Naruto‛s sapphire ones. Gods, he could stare into those piercing orbs for eternity. He cleared his throat, saying again, "Because...I..." He broke off, realizing that he could hardly stand the thought of Naruto rejecting him, that it was almost impossible for him not to. "I have to go," he said, standing up, practically running for the door.

"Wait!" Naruto said, quickly standing, catching up with him at the door. Sasuke was just reaching for the knob, ready to turn it. Naruto‛s hand cupped the back of Sasuke‛s, his body nearly flush with the taller boys. "I don‛t want you to leave just yet," he whispered into Sasuke‛s ear. "There‛s something I need to tell you first."

He let out a deep breath, the hot air scalding the skin on the back of Sasuke‛s neck. Sasuke nearly jumped his bones right then and there, his body trembling. He heard Naruto inhale before his lips were to his ear again. Sasuke held his breath. "I think I‛m in love with you, Sasuke."

Sasuke exhaled, relief flooding him. He turned around, taking both the blond‛s hands in his own and reclaiming those oh, so blue eyes that he loved. "That‛s wonderful," he said breathlessly, "because I think I‛m in love with you too."

And then he kissed him. Kissing Naruto was like nothing he‛d ever experienced. Sure, he‛d kissed a few girls in the past, but it was never like this, never meant so much to him. The way Naruto sighed softly, the way his hands wrapped around Sasuke‛s neck, fingers entwining with his dark hair, it was pure bliss.

He thought Naruto tasted like smoke, not cigarette smoke that he supposed smokers would taste like, but like the musky, heady intense smoke of a roaring wildfire, the intense heat flooding his mouth as tongues battled for domination, as teeth nipped and clashed, seeking more, more feeling, more _something._ Neither knew quite what they were looking for, but they were both positive that the other had it, whatever it was.

Naruto‛s jacket was being slid off of his arms before he even realized Sasuke was unzipping it. The garment tossed to the floor, he pulled back slightly, staring the few inches up into Sasuke‛s eyes. "Are we going to have sex?" he asked a little nervously.

"I don‛t know," Sasuke admitted. "I don‛t really know _what_ I‛m doing. Are we?"

"I want to," Naruto said, gasping for air. "I‛ve thought about it so much...I want to."

Sasuke nodded, leaning down to kiss the boy again. He could feel Naruto tugging at his own shirt, breaking away long enough for the navy cloth to be pulled over his head, taking the time to pull off Naruto‛s black t-shirt before their mouths met again. Naruto ran his hands down Sasuke‛s luminescent skin, a trail of scorching shivers left in his wake.

"Where‛s your room?" Sasuke asked, his mouth leaving the other boys to explore his neck, tracing kisses down to his collarbone.

"My...what?" Naruto asked, confused. Trying to think in his current, desperate, urgent state was difficult like no other.

Chuckling, Sasuke repeated, "Your bedroom, Naruto. Where is it?"

"That way, somewhere," Naruto said pointing in a vague, utterly useless sort of way at the way to his left. Looking, Sasuke saw that there was nothing there but wall.

"I suppose we‛ll have to go find it then," he said, taking Naruto‛s hand and leading him down the small hallway. There were four doors for him to choose from. The first two doors belonged to a closet and a bathroom, respectively. The third, Sasuke saw, seemed to be a bedroom converted into a sort of mini dojo. _Interesting_, the boy thought, softly closing the door, opening the last door.

"It‛s clean," he almost gasped in surprise.

Naruto smiled. "I‛m hardly ever in here," he explained. "Most of the time I‛m too exhausted after training that I just collapse on the couch."

Taking the lead, Naruto pushed Sasuke backward until the edge of the mattress caused his knees to buckle, landing on the bed with a soft _fwump!_ He pulled himself back until he was completely on the bed, urging Naruto to join him. He didn‛t need to be told twice.

—

"I can‛t believe that you _lied_ to your team, Kakashi," Iruka said, a little awed, a little reprimanding. His fingers gently squeezed those of his lover, earning a handkerchief-covered smile from the silver haired man.

"I was only teaching them a lesson," he said innocently.

"A lesson?" Iruka asked, cocking an eyebrow.

"Mm-hmm."

"I don‛t understand."

"You will," Kakashi said confidently as two girls rounded the corner, none other than Sakura and Ino. Both girls were wearing peeved looks, faces red and angry. Neither took notice of the two men watching them.

"Sasuke‛s mine!" Ino hissed.

"You‛re wrong!" Sakura retorted. _"He‛s mine!"_

On cue, a loud moan filtered down from the second story of a building the four were next to: Naruto‛s apartment.

"I think the two of you are wrong on both accounts," Kakashi said with a smile. "Sounds more like he‛s Naruto‛s."

_"What?!" _both girls said in unison.

—

Hours later, when both boys were far too spent to even move, Sasuke sat, holding Naruto close. "Can you tell me something?" he asked.

Naruto half turned, a smile plastered onto his face, nodding.

"Why were you so uptight earlier? I know that you hate the way people in this idiotic village treat you, but it seemed like it was more than that..."

Naruto sighed. "I didn‛t want you to lose whatever respect you had for me. It killed me, thinking you had. All I ever wanted was your respect. And your love."

"Silly Naruto," Sasuke said, gently biting the blond‛s neck. "You already have both. You have for a long time."

"That‛s good to know. You have no idea how good it is to know."

"This good?" Sasuke asked, trailing kisses down Naruto‛s neck.

"Better," Naruto said with a sigh.

"This good?" he asked again, hands running down the boys chest.

"Mm, better than that."

"I wander if it‛s better than this." Sasuke‛s fingers found the boy‛s thigh, caressing it and moving in closer until–

By now, Naruto was breathing heavily, reminding himself that he had to control himself lest he lose Sasuke‛s game. "Even better than– _oh!"_

"That‛s what I thought," Sasuke said, grinning. "I win."

"Win?" Naruto asked raggedly. "Honestly, it looks like I‛m the one scoring."

_End._

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**Author's Notes: Well, I sure hope that you enjoyed the story. Drop me a comment and let me know what you think.**

**webofdreams89**

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